[414] BIRDS OF OREGON 



Purple Martin: 



Progne subis subis (Linnaeus) 



DESCRIPTION. "Adult male: Whole body glossy blue black; wings and tail black; 

 feathers of ventral region entirely sooty grayish beneath the surface. Adult female 

 and immature males with forehead grayish and upper parts sooty glossed with blue 

 black, interrupted by grayish collar; lower parts grayish in front, whole under 

 parts streaked, the feathers, especially on chest, with distinctly sooty grayish 

 centers. Length: 7.15-8.50, wing 5.65-6.10, tail 3.00-3.40 (forked for .70-. 90)." 

 (Bailey) Nest: In holes in trees, about buildings, or in bird boxes. Eggs: 3 to 5, 

 white. 



DISTRIBUTION. General: Breeds from Alaska, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, 

 Ontario, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia south to Mexico, the Gulf Coast, and 

 Florida. Winters in South America. In Oregon: Rather uncommon summer resident 

 and breeding species of western Oregon; most common in coastal counties; decidedly 

 rare east of Cascades. 



WE CONSIDER the beautiful and companionable Purple Martin a decidedly 

 uncommon bird in Oregon and much regret that it is not more abundant. 

 Its gentle social nature has endeared it to mankind throughout the East- 

 ern States, and the sight of a flock of Purple Martins circling about an 

 elaborate martin house set upon a long pole brings a thrill to any bird 

 lover. For several years colonies nested near Bridge, Coos County; near 

 the mouth of Sixes River, Curry County; at St. Helens, Columbia County; 

 and at Klamath Falls. In addition to these, Braly collected birds out of 

 a colony near Sand Lake, Tillamook County, June 3, 192.8, and in the 

 same year the writers obtained specimens from a small colony at Drews 

 Creek Reservoir, Lake County. This colony, which persisted for several 

 subsequent seasons, nested in old woodpecker holes in the tops of a clump 

 of giant old yellow pines that had been killed by the impounded waters 

 of the reservoir. At the time of our first visit there was perhaps 10 feet 

 of water about the base of the trees, the lower limbs of which held a 

 colony of Farallon Cormorants. This was a rather bizarre combination 

 martins and cormorants going about their daily business in the same 

 clump of trees. The coastal county colonies were all found breeding in 

 old spruce snags, and those at St. Helens and Klamath Falls in the busi- 

 ness buildings, as the birds do in eastern cities. 



The first published Oregon record of this species was Anthony's (1886) 

 from Washington County. Woodcock (1901) listed it from Portland, 

 Beaverton, and Corvallis, the records including a set of 5 eggs taken in 

 Fulton, south of Portland, by W. L. Finley on July 3, 1895. Shelton 

 (1917) found it in the Mackenzie Valley and the coast of Lane County. 

 Willett (1919) reported one bird from Malheur Lake on May 10. Finley 

 (Finley and Finley 192.4) listed it as breeding in trees in the Willamette 

 Valley. This completes the published references to the species except 

 our own notes. The files of the Biological Survey contain the following 

 manuscript records in addition to our own given above. Dr. A. K. Fisher 



